The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-08-06

tSued Oy DdDtd WdtReT, ana Ceremony
by Esq, Robbins The Indi,in Mission
School "A Primitire MHL-Other Pho.
neer Incidents
At the beginning Of that winter John
Strswn had bought lot Of hogs from "A
man living near Peoria. The big snow
fell and Mr.. s. could not go for his pork
ers The farmer, impatient to get rid of
them, came to Straan's, all the way on
snow shoes, TO tell him that he was out OF
feed and advising that they be killed and
the pork hauled; but the snow increased
In quantity and nothing conld be done. In
the spring Strawn and a couple Ct hired
hands went over TO sec about what had be-
come of his pigs, and found the man had
sold them, but he accounted for the pro
ceeds in perfectly satisfactory manner to
Strawn.
The latter and his men In returning en-.
countered the mighty freshet of the spring
OF 1881. His horse carried him safely,
swimming every stream; but his men, on
foot had to stay couple of nights and
days ON an island In Crow Creek, food In
the shape of biscuits being supplied by
throwing them across the stream. The
water In the rivers and creeks WAS higher
that spring than any white man had re.
membered to have seen, and there were a
number of aged Indians about Lacon who
said that 1t was the greatest flood of any In
their remembrance and traditions for ages
previous
THE FAMILY ARRIVED.
Next spring, that of 1881, Mr.. Armstrong
built dwelling and blacksmith shop on
Lacon Prairie. About May his mother,
Elsie and his brothers arrived fOm Ohio
and stopped awhile at John Strawn's, NOV.
lag up TO Deer Park that summer, where
Mrs A. had made a claim, which after.
wards and for many years was known as
the "Armstrcng Place" after helping his
brothers to build house. Here his broth
ers William and Joel were taken with
ague. Some one had heard that a sure
cure for ague was to battle in cold water.
Accordingly an able bodied hired man
seized William and doused him in pond
of ice water, which" John :. remarked
dryly, "pretty near finished the future En-
peror of Grundy," as Bill was afterwards
called.
RETURNS TO ONO.
In Dec. 1881 John S. returned to Ohio,
partly to assist in adjusting some business
affairs and partly to improve his defects of
education. As previously stated, his early
and only schooling had been quite limited
and of very Indifferent character. In his
brief intercourse with the world "On his
own hook" he discovered his want of In.
formation in the common branches of
learning and felt that he could not put in
year rr so of time to better advantage than
in attending some good school, He found
what he wanted near his old home and ap.
piled himself faithfully to study tor over q
year. lie returned 10 Deer Park in May,
1888, greatly improved in scholarship. He
made claim and broke 30 acres of land
that summer, near the Reynolds farm, south
of Utica, and cut hay and sowed winter
wheat thereon.
GETS MARRIED.
He had for some time been acquainted
with the family of Abraham Trumbo, an
other pioneer settler Of this county, and
was attracted by the superior charms and
practical good sense of Miss Margaret
Trumbo, who possessed all the desirable
to make fitting mate for an
enterprising young settler of Mr.. Arm.
strong's peculiar qualities, and they were
married January LIST, 1894. The license
was issued by David Walker, clerk of the
court and the ceremony performed by Es-
quire Robbins in the presence of small
party of neighbors, at the cabin of the
brides mother, on the Trumbo farm, near
Ottawa. Mr.. Trumbo was an extensive
land owner, and gave the young couple
their choice of five different and excellent
locations. They chose the fine farming re-
gion at Mission Point.
THE INDIAN MISSION SCHOOL.
"In 1926 Rev. Jesse Walker, (uncle OF
Geo Z. Walker, La Sale cOdnty's first
sheriff) the pioneer Methodist minister of
Northern Illinois, conceived the idea of
and educating the Pottawat
tamie Indians of Illinois. These Indians
had been on terms of peace with the Uni
ted States and her people for about twelve
years, and were undisputed owners OF the
land lying along the Illinois river from
Peoria to Lake Michigan. He obtained
permission to erect what he called a mis-
sion upon Sec. Is, T. 80. in the county OF
La Sale Here he built commOdiOus,
double hewedlog cabin, and some out
buildings, and opened school for the re
ligious training of the youthful Indians,
who for short time attended out OF curl
osity. But the good elder soon became a
believer in total depravity, for he found
that 'Ephraim was Joined to his IDOLS and
was forced to let him alone. The Indians
were too much welded to the legends and
traditions of their forefathers to become
even interested in what they called the
white mans path to pay any. attention to